Nov 13, 2013

We're getting some cold weather here in New York for Autumn, temperatures are in the thirties – a perfect day for soup. This recipe is an oldie but goodie, one I make quite often and grew up eating as a kid and since I was making it today, I thought I would highlight it for those of you who haven't tried it.

Both my parents loved to cook and no doubt that has rubbed off on my brother and I. My Dad's style of cooking was very different from my Mom's since he was born in Prague, Czech and she was born in Colombia. As you can imagine, the meals we group up with were pretty eclectic, but one of the simplest recipes my Dad made was this soup.

As a kid, we had a cup of homemade soup almost every night before dinner. I wasn't always happy about this, because believe it or not, I was pretty picky. But on the night's we had this soup, I never complained.

My father lost his vision a few years ago, so sadly he no longer cooks. But thankfully he is still with us, and I've been trying to learn some of the dishes he once cooked. This one is EASY, only 5 ingredients and you have yourself a warm, delicious bowl of soup that is so light you can serve this as a first course for dinner or with a half sandwich for lunch.

There is no cream added, the silky texture is simply from pureeing it. Dad used water and chicken bouillon which I often do (I use Better Than Bouillon) but here I used chicken broth instead; use whatever works for you. Sometimes I add some diced carrots, or even celery – there are no rules here.

Directions:In a medium saucepan, make a roux by melting the butter on low heat. Add the flour and stir about 2 minutes.

Add the chicken broth, onions and cauliflower and set heat to medium. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium-low heat until vegetables are tender (about 20 minutes.) Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

174 comments
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Your recipes look light but visually filling! How are Weight Watcher points counted? I'd like to see how I can count Weight Watcher Points for my recipes at http://momgateway.blogspot.com. Thanks for your delicious posts!

@Momgateway If you got to My Helpful WW Links in the middle column, there are two links, one is A-Z WW Points Food List, a list of just about every food you can think of with the point value and quantity,and the other is a WW Points Calculator where you input calories, fat and fiber and it gives you the point value. That's it in a nutshell!

This recipe looked so good I had to make it right away. I didn't have fresh cauliflower but I had a bag of Birdseye steam fresh frozen garlic cauliflower (12 oz.). It worked great and soup was delicious and filling.

I don't know why anyone would bother to get their nose bent out of shape about this comment. I'm a big fan of Gina and of this site, but it IS roux, NOT rue. The commenter above was perfectly polite and Gina is a big girl. I notice she has edited it to make the correction.

I don't think you're being a downer at all. You're just sharing basic culinary knowledge and I'm sure Gina knows what roux is and simply misspelled it and now she corrected it thanks to your gently pointing it out. Everyone needs to calm down!

I made this for lunch today and it was amazing! I had to use frozen cauliflower and chicken bouillon (because that's all I had in the house) and it was still delicious! I also added in a clove of garlic. Mmm!

Made the soup this morning and I'm blown away at how delicious it is! So simple, so yummy. The only change I made was the addition of two finely chopped garlic cloves - I was graving garlic (wink!). After one serving, I'm actually satisfied...still licking my lips! Thank you so much for sharing...

Love,love, love the soup. I put a dash of sage in mine just for kicks. My son also loved it which is not normal! I have left overs for lunch today. Yummy. I have shared your site with all my friends. You are the greatest !! Thanks !

This is really, really good! I just made it, the kids love it! One thing I did different from the recipe, is that I sauted the onions with the butter before adding the flour and cooking. I don't know if it made any difference in taste, but I have always sauted onions before adding liquid when I make soup.

I absolutely love your blog and this soup! it was so delicious, I added some garlic (because i add it to everything) and even ate it for breakfast one morning. Also, I love how you respond to people's comments- thanks for all you do!

@Kelly- breakfast!! That's a first! I read all comments and really enjoy them. I try to respond to the questions mostly, it's not easy to respond to every comment but really do appreciate the time that goes into leaving them, so thank you!

MMMM MMMM Good! Another good one, Gina! The fact that this is 1 WW pt is amazing and it was so awesome. I added a few baby carrots to give it a different flavor and it turned out great.Seriously, I have been cooking solely off your site for weeks now and my family is full, healthy and losing weight! ha ha :)

I have been making this soup over and over again! I added a little bit of ham to add some protein, added some fresh herbs (cilantro b/c I love it) and a few garlic croutons....very filling and so good. And the fact that it's so easy to make makes it a perfect recipe. Thanks Gina!

I never had cauliflower soup before...awesome is all I have to say!! I did add a dash of "Mrs Dash". I honestly have been craving potato soup and this curbed that craving. Thanks for the recipe!! Now I am sad that I sent the other three serving home with my boyfriend!

I made this soup tonight b/c I saw your note about vitamin C and I've been a little under the weather....question, sometimes you do a slurry (chicken pot pie soup), sometimes you make a rue (this recipe) and in the cream of mushroom soup you just mix the flour with cold water....what's the difference b/n the three techniques? I mean, it seems like the goal is to thicken....? I'm just curious! Thanks for the recipes!! This one tastes like cream of potato soup....only better:)

Hey Gina, I saw purple cauliflower at the grocery this week and was SO tempted to get it to use in this soup recipe! Have you ever tried it? Does it taste different? I think purple soup would be FUN! ;)

Angela, aww now I know you make all my recipes!! I love the flavor from the rue best, nothing beats it! So in this soup which uses only a few ingredients and is low in points anyway, I prefer the rue. Something using more complex flavors, and which would have more fat, I make a slurry to keep the points down. The creamy mushroom soup is basically a slurry. Sometimes with a slurry you can taste the flour, which I try to avoid by cooking it longer. Hope that helps, in the end, yes it's about making it thick.

@Angela & Gina…that would be "roux"…not to be nit-picky…but here in France…hey…it just "stuck" out at me a bit…The recipe is sublime…with a sprinkle of fresh chives it is truly creamy, warm and comforting!

Gina,I have been making this soup once a week since i found this recipe a few weeks ago, I leave out the salt but add a can of corn at the very end , just as I blend it. Everyone thinks it's a rich corn chowder, I believe I have shared it with 7 people and have had no complaints. I give them all the recipe with your website on it. I am still trying to figure out pts plus total. I am calling it 2 pts for 1.5 cups. What do you think?Looking forward to your response. Thanks in advance,Penny

It's near 90 degrees in the NYC area and I just had to make this soup. I've had a head of cauliflower sitting in the fridge for days and couldn't stand to make "cauliflower poppers" anymore! (It's probably the only thing I know how to make with cauliflower.) Anyway, everyone LOVED it. It's so filling. I garnished mine with feta cheese and chives and sprinkled some crushed red pepper flakes and black pepper.

Hi Gina! I am OBSESSED with your blog. I'm a few years out of college so I still call my mom about every other day for her recipes. Your site has taken the pressure off a bit so she thanks you too! I don't have an immersion blender, is there any other way to make the soup without one? Thanks!

Hi Gina,I love your recipes. Thanks for sharing them with us. I made the creamy cauliflower soup last night and we loved it. It was so easy to make. Can you you substitute broccoli for the cauliflower to make an easy soup? Thanks so much!

This soup is calling my name! My crew likes a little more texture in their soups so I think I'll remove some of the cauliflower prior to blending and then add it back in at the end so some of it is pureed and some is not. I can't wait!!

I made this today.....a whopping 19 degrees outside....what a yummy, satisfying soup for such a day...I did add a little cumin. Added a nice color and flavor to an already fantastic recipe. I have to tell you, I have tried other sites for lower cal/lower fat recipes. This one, by far, is the best because the recipes are full of flavor and so satisfying. Working my way through, one recipe at a time ;)

Thanks for this wonderful recipe. It was soooo delicious! In order to get 6 servings instead of 4, I added 6 cups of chicken broth instead of 4 cups. As well I added one finely chopped garlic clove and cooked it along with the onion in the butter at the beginning of the recipe. After cooking the garlic and onion, due to the increased liquid content, I added 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour to the roux. One last item that I added for extra flavour during the 20 minute cooking time was a bay leaf, that was removed before I pureed the soup. Thanks Gina for this fantastic recipe. I love all your recipes!!

I just found your blog from Pinterest and have been sifting through your recipes (we decided to elimate carbs and sugar from our diets to the best of our ability). I LOVED this soup and I don't even like cauliflower. Thank you so much for all the work you do! I recently made the shrimp-avocado salad- yum!!! -Jen

Such an amazing recipe! Thank you! Even husband had 3 big spoonfuls and he does NOT like cauliflower but he conceded he could enjoy it as a starter. I had a bowl full and it's very filling. Definitely making it again. Oh also I roasted the cauliflower for extra flavor. Would def recommend this.

I am so happy you posted this. I am also Czech and I LOVE this soup. We always added ground cumin -> that's a must in my opinion. And sometimes we didn't even blend the cauliflower, just left small pieces there. And a few sliced carrots add a nice touch of color, as you mentioned. Dobrou chuť ! :)

Gina - Love your site! My intent tonight was actually just to pop in some of your Buffalo Cauliflower Bites, but my Pinterest automatically directed me to this post. Perfect! It is definitely soup weather here in Boston. The soup was delicious!

I made this once with purple cauliflower thinking I was so clever. The soup tasted fine but the color was so unappetizing. You had to eat it without looking at it! Note to self: use white cauliflower and don't be a smarty-pants!!!

I absolutely love this recipe and have gotten my daughters addicted to it, too. I have, however, made one change that makes for a quicker and just as tasty end product with no fat. I skip the roux altogether and when blending, I add instant potato flakes--1/4 to 1/3 cup, depending on the size of the cauliflower. Thanks for the yummy recipe!

OK I have to say I didn't want to have to count any Points Plus on WW so the 2nd time I made it I left out the flour and butter and no one could tell the difference. So just Cauliflower, a box of chicken broth and a large onion cooked until soft and pureed w/ my immersion blender. It still tastes buttery and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.Sometimes I do a few add ins: A handful (not too many) of frozen peans after I puree the soup. A bit of curry powder just to change it up. I've served it at an elegant dinner in pretty little bowls and people rave.

Wow! This soup I just made with added carrot, celery and garlic and parsley was one of the very tastiest low cal low carb I have ever eaten. This only has 40 calories per cup according to Calorie Count when I added all ingredients!

Gina, My Dad made this cauliflower soup too!!!! Although we don't do the roux-Just the cauliflower,broth, onion or leek & then let it cook down-& small batches in the blender- add some S&P and voila.....My Daddy's in heaven now....but just made this soup-Cheers to all the great Dad's out there!!!!

I made this soup last night! YUMMY! So quick and easy and comforting on a cold night. The only changes I made was to add crushed fresh garlic and white pepper. It was a big hit with the hubby. I will be making this again--soon! Thanks Gina for all the great recipes. Most everything I make now is from your site.

Hello, your recipes look so delicious. I too have some delicious recipes that you might find appetizing. Please go check out my beauty blog at http://one-stopbeauty.com/recipes where I have written a post about "22 healthy fall recipes". I was getting hungry just typing it up lol. Hope you enjoy my visit and leave a comment. I do love to get other people's feedback/opinions.

Just a suggestion but make a 1/2 batch and find out if you like it. No reason to be terrified of food as it sounds. Food is always kind of an individual experimental experience. Joy is in finding something that you thought you didn't like but actually do just in a different format.

This is the first recipe I have tried from your site, despite frequent browsing. It was very good! I do not have an immersion blender, and I hate adding hot soup to my blender, so I threw the raw cauliflower in my food processor, and added the resulting cauliflower rice/crumbs to the pot. Super easy! Thank you for a great recipe. I hope to try more :)

just made this using frozen cauliflower and extra seasonings. super tasty. with such a mild tasting soup you can use this as a base then head in many different flavor directions. i always have frozen cauliflower so this will become a staple in my soup recipe binder. i loved the story behind it also. i will think about your dad whenever i make it. i enjoy having a connection with recipes and even though i don't KNOW you i feel that connection. thanks. :)

Gina, you knocked it out of the park once again. This is fantastic, and will probably be my go to soup this winter. I threw in a handful of carrots because they had been sitting around, and about 1/4 tsp of cayenne because I like a little heat and it was amazing. Thank you for making healthier eating enjoyable!

Yum I love cauliflower soup. I made it last night but made a few changes (as I am on a special diet and I like a little spice). I used 2 TBSP of EVOO, 1 Large onion finely chopped, 1 1/2 TSP of Hot Madas Curry Power and 1/8 TSP of regular curry powder and I used 48 oz of 99% Fat Free Chicken Broth. I sauteed the Onion and Garlic in the EVOO until translucent. I then added the Hot Curry Powder and cooked it for a minute. I then added the flour and cooked for another 1 or so. Then added the chicken broth, bringing it almost to a boil, then adding the cauliflower. At the end I added salt and pepper as needed and the 1/8 TSP of regular curry powder. It was absolutely delish. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

First of all i love your website! I tried your Zucchini Soup and it was so easy and good. And today i made this soup and it tastes GREAT. I cant believe how easy it is. It seriously tastes like cream of potato soup. i tricked my husband and told him its potato soup bc he hates cauliflower lmao, lets just say he ate the whole bowl. =]

Finally made this soup tonight! Flagged this recipe months ago but hadn't gotten around to cooking it. Subbed coconut flour for regular flour and added carrots and celery. Amazing. Want to thank you for your site. It has really changed my life. I've been cooking more than I ever have since I found you a year ago. I feel much more confident in the kitchen. Thanks again!

I was on the fence about buying an immersion blender, and this recipe pushed me over. Made this soup last night, and it was SO good!! I could hardly believe how easy it was. I increased the onions to about 1 cup, and also added a couple cloves of garlic. Chopped scallions and a tiny drizzle of white truffle oil in the bowl, and it was perfect. Thank you for sharing!!

Just discovered your website and am in heaven! Thanks for all the great recipes. I love cauliflower soup and have a similar recipe, but will certainly try this. Grat base to add a little of this or that to as others have commented. I LOVE that you put the "old points" I did WW over 7 years ago and never could get into the Points Plus and am still using "old" points. Thanks!

This is how I always make my cauliflower( or broccoli soup, or potato soup). Only mine has ALOT more added butter & flour! Plus usually a little milk to thin it down. I was looking for a way to slim down my recipe, and this is it! It has all the flavor, if not more, and nowhere near the calories. It may not be quite as rich/thick, but it is wonderful none the less. I did add diced celery & sliced carrots, and as I don't have an immersion blender, I had to use my blender. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!

I just tried this and it's amazing!! I couldn't believe the flavor despite the lack of ingredients and dairy! At first I didn't add enough cauliflower (thought it looked like too much at first, and after cooking and blending realized I should have added more). Can't wait to actually eat it and not just sample it.

I was going to blanch some ears of corn for later use right before I made this soup tonight. It's probably the last of the season in my CSA box. Then I had a thought, how about I just add it to the recipe. :) Hoping it turns out well.

I made this soup for the second time yesterday on a cold, wet day in DC. It is so yummy and delicious we had it for lunch and dinner! I added carrots and celery simply because we had them. Any tips from others on using the immersion blender? I can't seem to get all the chunks out and make a bit of a mess trying. Thanks Gina for another great recipe - my hubby and I love your site!